Minhazur fashions eight-wicket win for U-19s

Bangladesh U-19s off-spinner Minhazur Rahman shows the cherry after picking six wickets in England U-19s second innings to help the hosts register an eight-wicket victory in the first Youth Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram yesterday. PHOTO: RAJIB RAIHAN

Sports Reporter

Left-arm spinner Minhazur Rahman ran riot on the field as he scalped all the four wickets that fell on the day and finished with match figures of nine for 65 to help Bangladesh Under-19s register a whopping eight-wicket victory against their English counterparts on the fourth and final day of the first Youth Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram yesterday.

England had started the day on the back foot on 89 for six after Bangladesh had declared their first innings on a strong 398 for nine, with a healthy 118-run lead. Minhazur then ensured that the visitors were unable to stage a comeback, breaking the 45-run seventh wicket partnership between George Hill and Luke Hollman -- the only highlight of England's innings -- as he trapped former leg before after a patient 102-ball 32. There were no more big partnerships as the visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals before being bundled out for 152 runs, setting a paltry 35-run target for the hosts. Minhazur's second innings figures were six for 28.

The batsmen were left with very little to do, but still, Bangladesh lost both their openers -- Tanzid Hasan and Amite Hasan – cheaply, but there were no more casualties as the hosts comfortably saw off the chase.

Bangladesh had won the only Youth T20I and all three Youth ODIs and, with yesterday's win, the young Tigers now have a chance to whitewash the visitors in all formats when they square off against England in the final Youth Test beginning on February 15 at the same venue.